Born A Killer - An Ugly Yet Beautiful World Novella
by Snivysaurus
Summary: This novella is a tale that explains how two of our characters met, but not only that. It explains how their relationship formed and how they came to be who they are now. Continue reading to discover the story of two mysterious cats within the city: Hunter and Killer.
1. Summary & Characters

_Preface:_

Far from the city in a desolate lab, a pregnant she-cat was injected with the genes of an ancient cat. The scientists within desired to bring this prehistoric creature back from extinction through small experimentations first through the cousins of the species. When the she-cat went into labor, two of her three kits were stillborn, while just a few hours later she too passed onto the next life. However, her one surviving dark-grey kit made the scientists' eyes grow wide. They monitored its growth, caring for it, nurturing it, and just for safe measures injecting more strange fluids into its blood. Once it started to stumbled about, they soon noticed the significant differences. Its fangs started to grow out from over its tiny lips, revealing that their risky experiment had been a success. The next step was to keep the kit alive long enough and transport it to a larger lab to replicate the success of the first. 

Six months after the birth of this young kit, who was tagged and named "Killer" by its creators, the scientists placed him into a cage in the back of a truck to take him to his next destination. However, while driving through the city, the truck hit a large pothole, causing the back doors to swing open and send Killer's cage flying out onto the sidewalk, cracking open. The young kit managed to stumble forward in confusion for a few minutes before the stun from the fall became too much for him, where he slipped into unconsciousness out in the middle of the large, unfamiliar city.

* * *

 _Characters:_

 **Killer** \- Scrawny, but still muscular, scruffy dark grey, almost black, tom with crazed, amber eyes. His tail is only a nub, as if had been cut off. He has unusually long claws and fangs that hang out over his bottom lip, almost like a saber. 

**Hunter** \- Slender, muscular grey tom with green eyes and a lighter stone grey underbelly. He has black ears, along with his tail. His paws are also black, all the way up to his knees. He has three black spots on his shoulders and hindquarters. 

**Bianca** \- Dark grey and pitch-black seal point Siamese she-cat with pale blue eyes. She has a stocky build rather than a slender one and bears three black spots on her shoulders and hindquarters. 

**Witch** \- Grey she-cat with a darker stone grey underbelly. Her ears are black, along with her tail, which is long-furred. She has three spots on her shoulders and hindquarters. Her paws are black all the way up to her knees. She has green eyes. 

**Violet** \- Long-furred dark grey she-cat with lighter grey spots on her hindquarters. Her tail, ears, and legs are black all the way up to her knees. She has amber eyes. ~ Created by Ðɪscσʀ∂ 

**Shard** \- Broad-shouldered, muscular grey tom with blue eyes. He has black ears, along with his tail. His paws are also black, all the way up to his knees. He has three black spots on his shoulders and hindquarters. His muzzle is shorter than normal and he bears a long scar across his snout, as well as a few nicks in his ears. 

**King** \- Large, muscular grey tom with green eyes and a lighter stone grey underbelly. He has black ears, along with his tail. His paws are also black, all the way up to his knees. He has three black spots on his shoulders and hindquarters. 

**Beast** \- Large, dark grey tom with a lighter, stone grey underbelly. His ears are black, along with his tail. His paws are black all the way up to his knees, and are rather large. Although he is thin, his muscles make him look well-fed. He has brown eyes. He has three black spots on his shoulders and hindquarters. 

**Reggie** \- A vicious, tan valley bulldog with a black face and white chest.

* * *

 ** _(This novella is recommended to be read after Chapter Thirteen to be completely spoiler-free)._**


	2. Part One

Mumbling.

Monotone mumbling.

That's all Killer ever recalled hearing. Mumbling from a language he hardly understood. They would speak of tests, of results, of his 'progress'. He never knew what it meant, though.

Killer.

The name they gave him. _Labeled_ him would be more accurate. After all, a yellow tag was always pinned to his ear. Even though it had been there for as long as he could remember, some part of him deep inside told him it didn't belong.

He had known the needles didn't belong either. They were constantly being poked into him, making him feel funny, making him sleepy, making only half 'there'. Their hairless paws would always hold him down and keep him from squirming.

All of that was gone now. The silence and the mumbling were replaced with a loud rumbling, with honks and clangs. The scent was no longer the still air that had always clung to his nostrils in the lab. No, now he could smell a _million_ things. Though, the initial acrid tang that hit his nose when he wiggled it was anything but pleasant, it was _new_ , and that's all that mattered.

Even the ground beneath him felt different. It wasn't the cold metal of the bottom of his cage. It felt almost rough and smooth at the same time. Warmer, even, as if something had heated it up slightly. Though his eyes remained cloaked in darkness, he could feel himself unsheathing his claws and scoring them lightly across this new ground. It was refreshing.

None of that was the best part, though. Faintly, he heard voices. Voices he could _understand_. They grew louder and clearer, and he thought he felt his heart pounding out of his chest. They spoke his language.

"-looks really different."

"He looks like a cat, but a weird cat! Look at his fangs! They're so _long_!"

"Is he dead? No, look, he's moving! I think he's waking up!"

Killer slowly started to open his eyes. The contrast in lighting hurt his eyes and blurred his vision as he started to lift his head. He groaned, blinking several times as the grey forms in front of him started to become clearer to his view. After a few moments, his sight and smell told him that two cats about his age were looming over him. One was a tom and the other a she-cat.

"Hey, are you okay?" the tom spoke first, looking down at him worriedly with his green gaze. His black tail flicked behind him as he tilted his head and twitched his matching black ears.

"You look like you just popped out of a cage that fell from the sky!" the she-cat added, her pale blue eyes wide with wonder. Her eye color contrasted her pitch-black face, the color spread across every limb of her body.

Killer blinked, still feeling quite dazed. Part of him wondered if this was just a dream, but it all felt too real. He certainly felt more alive and aware than any day he had spent in the walls of the lab. "I-I'm sorry…" he managed to choke out, his voice hoarse. When was the last time he had spoken? "I don't know how I ended up here…"

The tom's ears twitched. "Are you thirsty? We could catch you a mouse real quick!" he offered.

The she-cat nodded. "Yeah, leave it to me!" Without waiting for a response, she turned and dashed away in the opposite direction.

Killer watched her go, his senses starting to become clearer. He let out a soft sigh and started to push himself up into a sitting position. The tom was instantly at his side to support him.

"My name is Hunter, by the way. And my friend that just left, her name's Bianca. What's your name?" he asked.

Killer paused. Was what the Twolegs called him really his name? It's not like he knew any other. "Killer," he muttered, lifting his gaze to get a better look at his surroundings.

"That's a...nice name," Hunter replied slowly, obviously picking his words carefully.

Killer only sniffed in response. He was more intrigued with what was around him. He had seen some similar things when he had been taken out of the lab, but what he saw now was taken to a new extreme. There were buildings like the lab all around, but much bigger, looking as though they touched the sky and the clouds. The bustling around him hadn't ceased since he first regained consciousness. He recognized the monsters next to him as well, on what he believed to be their own little path that they didn't come off of. They were different colors and shapes from the one he was taken inside, but they were the same species nonetheless. He was so entranced by how much bigger his world was now that he didn't notice Bianca returning with a small rodent in her jaws.

"I'm back!" Bianca called in a sing-song voice as she stopped in front of them and dropped a mouse at his paws. "Go ahead, I promise it's fresh from the streets," she grinned with a hint of amusement in her eyes.

Killer blinked and stared down at the mouse. The scent reminded him of the raw meat that the Twolegs had fed him in the lab, but this smelled more...natural. Perhaps this is where the meat came from? The inside of this 'mouse'. Tentatively, he crouched down and started to take a closer look.

Bianca twitched her whiskers. "Um, is something wrong? Haven't you had a mouse before?"

Killer flinched slightly, as if he had forgotten these newcomers were still here. He nodded quickly. Of course, meat was meat. Suddenly feeling more self-conscious knowing the two were watching him, he tore into the mouse quickly. Instantly the pain of hunger became apparent in his belly. He was more eager to eat now, and past the fur and bones, the mouse definitely had a similar taste to what he was used to eating, just tougher.

"Hey, um…" Bianca started, glancing at Hunter for assistance.

"Killer," her companion finished for her.

"Right, Killer. I'm sure you know I'm Bianca by the way...But, uh, Killer? What's that yellow piece of plastic hanging from your ear?" she asked curiously.

Killer licked his lips and looked up from his nearly finished meal. "That? Oh...I didn't really pay much attention to it I guess. It's always been there." He shuddered slightly as his memories from the lab returned. He didn't want to think about that now. After all, somehow, he had been freed from his own hell and was standing in a whole new world.

"Oh, really? Well do you want us to take it off? It looks like it's uncomfortable," Hunter offered with a smile as he looked from Killer to the tag.

Killer stepped back. He didn't know why, but part of him was afraid. He should be joyous. He had a chance to remove the tag that bound him to the lab. Yet, what if the Twolegs found out? What would they do to him if they ever saw him again?

"Whoa, you're shaking! Don't worry Killer, we won't make it hurt!" Bianca piped up with wide eyes.

"You don't have to worry Killer, everything will be okay once it's off. Maybe it's like his form of a collar?" Hunter inquired as he glanced at Bianca, who gave a thoughtful nod.

Killer glanced in between the two of them. He hardly knew these cats or where he was, yet already he felt more safe than he ever had in the paws of the Twolegs. He took a deep breath and allowed his fur to lay flat. These were cats, like him. He could speak with them and they could understand his feelings within a second's notice. He no longer had to fear the Twolegs that had kept him in the lab. If he allowed them to remove the tag, perhaps he would finally be free of it for good. "Okay...I'll let you take it off," he decided after a moment.

Hunter smiled. "Alright, Killer. Just relax, okay?" he told him softly as he and Bianca stepped forward.

Killer shifted his gaze as he watched them pin him on his stomach against the ground. He felt Hunter's paws on his back as Bianca shifted her weight slightly. He flinched as he felt teeth meet his ear. He knew Bianca was trying to gnaw the tag off, but that didn't make it hurt any less. The dark grey tom unsheathed his claws and scored them across the ground, clenching his teeth as he tried to endure the pricking pain. Suddenly, after what felt like years, the pain ceased. The weight was not only lifted from his back, but also the slight feeling against his left ear.

"There." Bianca spat something against the ground and waved her tail. "The yellow thing is off!" she exclaimed triumphantly.

Killer was astonished as he glanced down and saw the yellow tag sitting next to him. These strangers had helped him, more than they even knew. He felt much more at peace knowing that any trace of the lab was now removed from his body. "Th-Thank you...that was really nice," he sighed, facing them both with a grateful gaze.

Hunter grinned cheekily. "It was no problem. So, Killer...Where did you come from? There are no cats around here that look like you," he questioned.

Killer shuffled his paws. "I don't really remember much…" He looked around at his surroundings. "But I feel as if I definitely didn't come from here...I don't think I have a home anymore." _Not that I really had one to begin with._

Hunter's eyes widened in alarm. "What? But you're so young! You can't live on your own, especially in the city!" He turned to face Bianca. "Hey Bianca, maybe we should take him back to Shard and convince him to let Killer join us!" he suggested eagerly.

Bianca flicked her tail. "I don't know Hunter...I was fine with helping him out, but letting him join us?" Killer saw her cast a side glance at him. "He's kinda...different," she muttered uncertainly.

"Yeah, and? One could say you're different from most outsiders too, Bianca," Hunter reminded her as he briefly touched his tail tip against her flank. The she-cat snorted and grew silent at this. "Right. We'll take him to Shard and let him decide. Come on, follow us, Killer." Hunter glanced back at him with a warm smile. With that, he turned away and started to walk down the sidewalk, Bianca reluctantly following.

Killer stared after them for a moment, wondering where exactly they planned to take him. However, he reminded himself of how they had helped him, and whoever this 'Shard' may be, they must trust that he too would help him out and perhaps give him a home among them, a _real_ home. Scrambling to his paws, Killer stepped quickly to catch up with them and follow them into the unknown.

Killer had followed the two down the sidewalk for a little while, making turns here and there until they came upon a large 'alleyway' as Hunter had mentioned earlier. However, unlike the ones they had passed on the way here, this one was half shut by what appeared to be two large, silver gates.

"This way, Killer," Hunter called back as he started to step towards the alleyway, already heading within.

A strong scent of cats hit Killer's nostrils as they got ever closer. Subconsciously his fur fluffed out in alarm as he started to see what was giving off the scents. Cats, so many cats, all with similar appearances to Hunter and Bianca. They were sleeping, socializing, eating, play fighting, and everything of the sort. While each scent was different, they all carried the same single scent. Would he grow to have it too, if he was accepted into this group?

Killer picked up the pace to stay closer to Hunter and Bianca, and forced his fur to lay flat even though soon enough these other cats started to notice him. Some stopped their actions all together to gaze at him with curiosity while others continued, pretending not to be staring as they muttered to each other with suspicion. Without meaning to, Killer's ears perked up as he passed by two she-cats who weren't paying him any attention, their conversation as clear as day.

"Violet, look at this! I met a travelling loner the other day and he showed me this herb. It's called goldenrod and I can use it to heal wounds, aching joints, and stiffness!" The first she-cat started. "Oh, and this one! This is borage. It can be used to treat fevers!"

The second she-cat, who Killer assumed was Violet, sighed. "Witch, you really need to get your head out of the clouds. All this stuff you're trying to learn is useless! When does a cat ever get sick like that?" she muttered.

As the trio started to step out of earshot from the two she-cats, Killer cast a glance back at them. He noticed that while every cat here looked similar to each other, these two especially did, so he couldn't help but assume they were sisters. Not only that, they were rather young as well, though not nearly as young as Hunter and Bianca.

Kiler turned his head back to the two cats he was following, and stopped abruptly as he noticed they had paused. He looked past them and his eyes widened in surprise. Just past them, against the right wall of the alleyway, was a large pile of bones. He didn't dare look too closely in fear of what kind of bones they may be.

At the top of the pile were two cats, once again similar to the others but having some noticeably different features. They were both toms, and the tom at the very top of the hill was scarred and bore a flat muzzle. The other tom was large and muscular. They had been talking each other until the first tom paused and looked down at the trio. Soon enough both pairs of eyes are focused directly on Killer. Both their expressions were unreadable.

Killer felt Hunter lean in close to him. "Don't worry," he whispered. "Don't be scared by them. I have connections with the authority," he added the last bit smugly.

"Hunter, Bianca," the voice came from the first tom. "Who have you brought before us?"

"This is Killer, and we found him unconscious on the sidewalk. He doesn't have a home, and doesn't even remember where he came from. I would like to request that he be allowed to join our group," he explained smoothly.

The second tom looked slightly surprised. "That is a bold request from someone who is just barely over the age of a kit," he rumbled.

"Think reasonably," Hunter insisted. "Killer would be a great addition to our group. We're about the same age, so he could start to learn to hunt and fight like I will be. I mean, look at his teeth!" he exclaimed as he lifted a paw to point at Killer's two long canines. The two toms broke their cool demeanor for just a moment to reveal their interest at the mention of his fangs.

A large tom stepped up to the pile of bones, his tail lashing irritably. "You can't possibly be considering letting this stranger into our group. We know nothing about his origins! We don't even know if he can take care of himself. We could be leading something dangerous right into our home," he snarled.

The second tom gave him a small nod. "I understand your concerns, Beast, but this is not your place to speak in matters that do not concern you," he mumbled coolly with a flick of his tail to perhaps dismiss him from the situation.

Beast grunted and stomped off with his tail flicking behind him. Killer stared after him for a moment, wondering what had gotten under his fur.

When he turned back to the two toms, he saw them whispering to each other as they occasionally glanced at him. Killer shuffled his paws as he anxiously watched them discuss, though no matter how hard he tried he couldn't make out what they were saying. After what felt like ages, they finally lifted their heads and turned to speak to him directly.

"If you truly want to join us, you must swear your loyalty to our group," the second tom started.

Killer nodded eagerly. "I'll do whatever you want if it means I'll have a home here."

"The life we live on these streets is not an easy one," the first tom warned. "There are dogs and rats, and if you don't have the right genes, it will be a struggle for you to adjust to our harsh lifestyle."

"I'll do whatever it takes to handle it!" Killer insisted as he got to his paws. "I'll learn to be just like the rest of you."

The two toms exchanged one last glance before the first gave a slow nod. "Very well, we shall allow you into our group. King, I will put you in charge of monitoring his progress and making sure that he understands everything to know about living on the streets." King nodded with a low grunt and wave of his tail.

Hunter smiled widely. "Thank you so much, Shard!" he purred excitedly. "Just you wait, Killer is going to keep his promise!"

Killer felt his shoulders sag with relief. He had a place he could call home now! "Yes, you won't regret it! Thank you, Shard," he dipped his head respectfully, knowing now that he was a part of their group he must address this cat as his leader like all the others.

Shard grunted and waved his tail dismissively. "It is nothing. Do not disappoint us," he sniffed.

"He won't!" Hunter promised before turning to face Killer. He began circling him, his tail waving back and forth eagerly. "I promise I'll teach you everything I know so all the outsiders will accept you!"

Killer smiled, and just as he was about to respond, he heard another voice. "Congratulations," came the purr from Bianca as she padded closer to him. "Welcome to the outsiders."

The dark grey tom waved his nub of a tail in delight. "Thanks, Bianca." He felt relieved knowing that the she-cat showed no hostility, especially after her reluctance to allow him in to begin with.

A yowl came from up above them, and Killer turned his head to see Shard standing now. His call not only got the three's attention, as soon every cat in the alleyway had turned to face their leader with curious and confused stares. "I have an announcement to make," Shard started, glancing briefly down at Killer before shifting his gaze across the group. "This young cat here is Killer. Hunter has brought him before us, and has explained that he has no home or companions to look after him. We all know the struggles of this place and how much harsher it can be without a group such as ourselves. Therefore, we have made the decision to allow Killer to join us. I have put King in charge of monitoring his progress so he learns to become one of us." He spoke firmly, showing that his decision was final and not open to discussion from any of the cats. He waved his tail dismissively to show he had finished with his announcement before turning away, King following at his heels, as they disappeared behind the Bonehill.

Murmurs arose from the cats as soon as Shard's brief meeting was over. Some of them sounded welcoming and seemed to agree with Shard's decision, while others were more suspicious, casting wary glances at the newcomer. Soon some of the outsiders passed by Killer casually, welcoming him in cool tones. The dark grey tom smiled as he recognized Witch and Violet among those who welcomed him. He turned his head to see, though not surprised, that the tom called Beast was lurking with the others who weren't keen on greeting or welcoming him.

Killer understood their misgivings. He was new, and while he was young, it didn't mean he could be trusted immediately. He didn't let it discourage him, however. He knew with time he would be able to prove his loyalty to them, and as soon as he did, they would no longer even think of the differences between them.


End file.
